The mind game

There is a version of Federico Chingotto the world has come to know. The explosive right-side player. The relentless retriever. One of the best in the world. But his story starts somewhere else entirely: a car park in Argentina, 3am, waiting for a tournament to begin.

Origins

Federico Chingotto grew up in Olavarría, a city of 100,000 in the Buenos Aires province where padel was not a sport but a language. His parents played. His cousin played on the street in front of the house. By five years old, Fede had a racket in his hand. He has not put it down since.

“It got into my blood,” he says. “I feel it’s my life. When my head gets too full, going to train gives me life.”

He is the only child of parents who gave him one clear message. On the door of his childhood bedroom they placed a phrase that has never left him: always try to be the best, never